Leah Marsh, managing director of Aurem Care, spent two nights in one of her own care homes to gain first-hand experience of the facilities and care offered.

Marsh stayed at Aurem Care’s newly-refurbished Hailsham House care home in East Sussex.

“It is probably seven or eight years since I have spent a night in a care home, and even then it would have been working a night shift or carrying out a night check,” she said. “With spending so many nights away from home staying in hotels of varying quality and having recently refurbished a unit at Hailsham House, I had the epiphany to experience what it would be like to actually sleep in a care home for a few nights.”

“Other than the likely anxiety that ‘the boss’ being around overnight may have had on the night team, I was confident I wouldn’t be adding to the team’s workload,” she added.

Marsh visited the communal lounge, watching the World Cup semi-finals with residents, and ate at the care home as well as sleeping in a single profiling bed, which can be adjusted to different positions. She said her visit had reassured her about the level of care and compassion offered by staff, and the quality of provision.

Marsh said she had surprised the night team when she woke at 5am. “I think surprised would be the night team’s reaction to me wandering the corridors in my rather fetching PJs in hunt of coffee, but I was easily able to self-serve my caffeine needs in the home’s café,” she said.